At the refuge, you are not far from the pass. The slope consents, for a time, to soften its harshness within the forested embrace. In this domain, where altitude holds court in the empire of spruces, nature orchestrates a symphony of streams, born of the Giessenbach. These veins of crystalline water carve their path with elusive grace, their routes defying any attempt at precise mapping.

Here again, indications show possibilities of joining the other track. It is also a little higher that Via Jacobi 4 also arrives, which does not pass through Rapperswil, and which comes from Schmerikon, via Siebenen.

At the edge of the woods, the path almost brushes the road to the pass. Far from the bustle of major routes, this discreet path leads to Einsiedeln, crossing a landscape dotted with anti-tank obstacles, silent witnesses of a time when the Swiss army, by number, rivaled the greatest in Europe. What enemy would have dared disturb the peace of these heights?

Soon, like a lighthouse guiding lost souls, St. Meinrad reveals itself, perched atop its sacred mountain.

Just one final effort, a steep slope to conquer, and the Via Jacobi takes possession of the Etzel pass, reigning at 928 meters above sea level. From the lake, your steps have triumphed over more than 500 meters of verticality.

The chapel of St. Meinrad, a 17th-century edifice, and the neighboring inn, shaped by centuries, stand where Meinrad, a monk from Reichenau in the 9th century, chose to live as a hermit before sowing the seeds of what would become Einsiedeln. Two ravens, according to legend, were the hermit’s companions, witnesses to his tragic fate at the hands of brigands. Today, their effigy watches over Einsiedeln, the heraldic emblem of the town. Here, the soul feasts on serenity at the chapel, and the body finds comfort at the inn, whose terrace offers a plunging view of the Einsiedeln valley.

The descent from the pass reveals a landscape that seems to escape from a Swiss postcard, where each element – ancestral farms, brilliantly green meadows, peaceful cattle, and distant mountains – contributes to an almost unreal harmony.

Further down, the road makes its way past a Christmas tree farm, adding a poetic note to the scene.

It then descends, winding between meadows and herds until it reaches the Krone hotel, located not far from the bridge over the Sihl.

It was here (but not at the Hotel Krone) that Paracelsus was born in 1493, born Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim. He spent most of his life in Salzburg, where he died there. He was an innovative doctor-surgeon in therapy, coupled with a great philosopher, initiating the turn from galenist medicine, centered on the four humors, towards modern medicine based on biochemistry, by destabilizing the galenic and Aristotelian edifices and by opening the way to experimental physiology. The thought of Paracelsus is the starting point of the long process of separating chemistry from alchemy. The work of many scholars over two and a half centuries made it possible to free themselves from the metaphysical excesses of Paracelsus and by relying on laboratory experiments to lead to the chemical revolution of Lavoisier in the 1XVIIIth century. It is still surprising to find Paracelsus here, among the gray cows of so-called primitive Switzerland!

The Via Jacobi crosses here the Devil’s Bridge, a magnificent stone bridge with its wooden roof, dating from 1700. It was built to transport stones from the Etzel quarry to Einsiedeln for the construction of the new monastery. Crossing the bridge was an important milestone for the ancient pilgrims of Compostela. The Sihl originates in the mountains of the canton of Schwyz, crosses the lake of the same name near Einsiedeln, and flows into the Limmat in Zurich. To see, it resembles a rather tumultuous river.

A bit of advertising here for the St. Joseph hotel in Einsiedeln, a refuge for pilgrims, offering a welcome stop, promising rest and comfort.

Beyond the bridge, the road climbs slightly towards the scattered homes of Meieren. However, your route does not linger on this road preferring to quickly escape through the meadows.

The path then crosses a modest tributary of the Sihl, before sloping up, with moderate gentleness, through a woodland dominated by ashes and beeches, where small gray cows watch you pass, imbued with a wholly pastoral benevolence.

Then, facing a more demanding slope, the trail joins a wider path, an ascent that will test your endurance before finally leading us towards the heights and farms of Chlammeren. The peasants here, too, have their own drivable path for their tractors. Well! We’ll say we understand, given the incline of the meadows here.

A little further up, a small road leads to the farms of Chlammeren.

Here, a refreshment bar is not just a simple refuge to quench your thirst; it is also a trove of artisanal treasures, offering travelers a taste of paradise.

Section 4: Downhil to Einsideln, at Meinrad’s monastery.

Overview of the route’s difficulties: a route without difficulty.

Beyond the hamlet, the climb continues with infinite gentleness, ascending towards a high plateau. Before you, in the majestic mountain range, emerge the two characteristic prominences of the Mythen, like silent guardians watching over the Alpine land. Tomorrow, your route will cross them, guided by the whims of the Via Jacobi.

Soon, you arrive at the place known as Höchmatt, a high-altitude meadow where the air’s breath is as pure as that of the summits. Here, you are at the same level as the Etzel pass, according to a sign indicating Einsiedeln is about an hour’s walk away.

The Via Jacobi, carried away by an imperceptible descent, follows the layout of the old Etzel pass road. On the horizon, the silvery silhouette of Lake Sihl, a majestic body of water fed by the mountain streams, where the eponymous river meanders, while Einsiedeln rests in the valley’s embrace.

Around the bend, at a place called Galgenchappeli, a memorial commemorates three peasant heroes, unfortunate victims of local uprisings, fallen here under the executioner’s blade in 1766, their heads nailed to the posts of infamy.

The road approaches Lake Sihl, yet does not plunge into it. The lake’s tranquil waters, harmoniously blue, reflect the icy serenity typical of Alpine lakes.

As you draw closer to Einsiedeln, sacred symbols dot the road, witnesses to a fervor rooted in the centuries.

It is then that the road slightly slops down, as if to show respect towards the city that looms on the horizon.

Even today, anti-tank barriers protect Einsiedeln, reminding of a past here fortunately spared from the torments of history. The city spreads gracefully across a vast plain, under the benevolent gaze of the Mythen, overseeing from the heights.

The Via Jacobi concludes its journey upon reaching Einsiedeln, on the Alte Etzelstrasse, though you remain at a distance from the city’s beating heart.

There, where a breath of the countryside still lingers, Einsiedeln opens its gates to you.

The road now skirts a more recent part of the city, admittedly lacking charm.

Then, it draws closer to the abbey, crossing paths with the St. Gangulf Chapel, a secular building dating from the early 11th century. Ancient chronicles, illustrated by the hands of time, trace the passage of the Way of St. James through its sacred walls. The Second World War saw the restoration of this place of worship, testifying to the eternal quest for spirituality.

The Via Jacobi finally emerges in the heart of Einsiedeln, populated by some 11,000 souls, renowned for its monastery but also for its ski jumps which, each winter and summer too, host international ski jumping competitions.

The abbey, dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, majestically presides over a vast square, animated by the coming and going of the faithful and the curious. The Einsiedeln convent ranks among the most visited shrines, attracting each year more than 500,000 pilgrims from all corners of the globe to contemplate and venerate the Black Madonna.

At the center of this imposing square springs the Virgin’s fountain. Many pilgrims drink from its source, originally the source of St. Meinrad. It is attributed with therapeutic properties.

It has already been mentioned that Meinrad, who came from Reichenau, a Benedictine house on an island in the Rhine, first established himself as a hermit, as early as 828, near the Etzel pass. He then descended to Einsiedeln, then in the midst of a dense forest, to live in a few rooms, with a small chapel for worship. In 861, he was killed by thieves who crushed his skull. The hermitage of St. Meinrad was then abandoned for 40 years. Other monks took over the hermitage. They restored the chapel and cleared the surrounding area. In 934, the small monastic community, following the Rule of St. Benedict, expanded, and a first Abbot was appointed. In 947, Emperor Otto recognized the monastery and conferred upon the abbots the dignity of princes of the Empire. Einsiedeln shone with bright brilliance in the 10th and 11th centuries, and its influence spread over southern Germany. From the 14th century, its pilgrimage attracted large crowds. It should be noted that it was in 1286 that mention was first made of a chapel dedicated to the Virgin. On the altar where Meinrad prayed, a chapel was built, the site where now stands the Chapel of Grace, where pilgrims from all over the world have come and continue to come to venerate the Black Madonna.

A difficult period followed with numerous fires, frictions between the cantonal authorities and the monastery, the Reformation. In 1577, a last fire destroyed the village and a large part of the monastery. Reconstruction was undertaken. In 1683, the Chapel of Grace, containing the precious statue and the old hermit’s chapel, was transformed, completely covered in black marble at the expense of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The almost total reconstruction of the monastery was decided in 1702. The current façade, with its tall towers, was completed in 1724. The grand square in front of the church was arranged from 1745 to 1747. Living in the full Baroque era, the buildings were designed as such. In the 18th century, given the increasing number of pilgrims, some transformations were made in the naves, around the Chapel of Grace, and in the arrangement of the great organs.

Let’s enter the church.

Lovers of late Baroque and rococo will find their delight. The object of devotion is in the Chapel of Grace, the Black Virgin, the Madonna of the Hermits. The statue, made of pear wood, measures about 1 meter. Of unknown origin, it is said to have been brought here in the middle of the 15th century. Originally, the face and hands were painted, but the soot from the candles burned eventually blackened them. It was then decided to paint the main parts of the statue black. Despite successive fires, the statue and its chapel remained intact. The Virgin was secured during the occupation of French troops in the Revolution of 1798. Before each major religious festival, the statue changes costume, and the monks change her dress several times a year, in red, purple, white, blue, or Persian robes. There are no less than 33 ceremonial outfits, made of precious fabrics, adorned with jewels, gold crowns, necklaces, pearl rosaries, or diamond earrings. There is a responsible for the Marian wardrobe in the convent. Covering a Black Virgin is not unique to Einsiedeln. It is practiced similarly, for example, at Le Puy-en-Velay or Rocamadour. In Catholic liturgy, the beginning of a jubilee year is always solemnly marked by the opening of the Holy Door by the pope at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. However, for this Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis wished that in each diocese there be a holy door so that everyone around the world can make a jubilee journey. Einsiedeln undertook the step by erecting a door in front of the church.

The massive abbey contains 4 courtyards. In addition to apartments for the monks, it includes a school, workshops, a cellar for the abbey’s wine, stables housing horses raised by the monks, a library not open to the public. The monastic library holds manuscripts and books dating back to the monastery’s foundation in the 10th century. There are now about fifty monks. The canton of Schwyz is a predominantly Catholic canton.

The city’s life is concentrated near the church and the adjacent streets. Beautiful buildings adorn the square, including the baroque Rathhaus or the St. Joseph hotel, an institution here.

Even the banks here are entitled to their flourishes.

That Sunday, there was a crowd in Einsiedeln. It wasn’t just ski jumpers training for the jumping competition. It was an Alpine festival that you hardly see any more except in German-speaking Switzerland, in the big towns. “The Swiss milks his cow and lives happily. ” said Victor Hugo. Nothing has changed on the entire route of the Camino de Compostela, up to Lausanne. Cows, more cows, nothing but cows. In Einsiedeln, there was a crowd to watch the procession of whippersnappers, but especially bell ringers. All that was missing were the alphorn players and the breeches wrestlers, to tour the Swiss folk heritage.

And after this rather dissonant symphony, the break takes place of course in the canteen, to the sounds of a traditional orchestra. Of course, it is better to ignore the canteen and enter one of the restaurants, where you will eat the best Rösti (roasted patatoes)on the planet.

Accomodation on Via Jacobi  

• Hôtel-restaurant Rössli, Hudnerstrasse 137, Hurden; 055 416 21 21; Hotel, dinner, breakfast
• Familie Dillier, Lützerhof, Etzelstrasse 126, Pfäffikon; 055 420 21 93/079 604 14 50; Guestroom (straw), dinner, breakfast
• Ferienwohnung Kählin, Pilgerweg 36, Pfäffikon; 055 410 56 20/079 240 35 72; Guestroom, breakfast
• Seedamm Plaza, Seedammstrasse 3, Pfäffikon; 055 417 17 17; Hotel****, dinner, breakfast
• Gasthaus St Meinrad, St Meinrad; 055 412 25 34; Hôtel, dinner, breakfast
• Kloster Einsiedeln, Einsiedeln; 055 418 61 57; Accueil chrétien, dinner, breakfast
• Jugend und Bildungszentrum, Lincolnweg 23, Einsiedeln; 055 418 88 88; Youth hostel
• B&B Wissmüli, Weissmühlestrasse 3, Einsiedeln; 055 412 51 58; Guestroom, breakfast
• Zen Ermita, Etzelstrasse 38, Einsiedeln; 078 408 10 89/076 405 05 67; Hotel (zen), dinner, breakfast
• Hôtel Sankt Joseph, Am Klosterplatz, Einsiedeln; 055 412 21 51; Hotel, breakfast
• Hôtel Allegro, Lincolnweg 23, Einsiedeln; 055 418 88 88; Hotel**, dinner, breakfast
• Hôtel Sonne, Hauptstrasse 82, Einsiedeln; 055 412 28 21; Hotel**, dinner, breakfast
• Hôtel Sankt Georg, Hauptstasse 72, Einsiedeln; 055 418 24 24; Hotel***, breakfast
• Hôtel Drei Könige, Paracelsuspark 1, Einsiedeln; 055 418 00 00; Hotel***, dinner, breakfast
• Hôtel Linde, Schmidedenstrasse 28, Einsiedeln; 055 418 48 48; Hotel***, dinner, breakfast
•

Finding accommodation on this stage shouldn’t pose major difficulties. You’ll be in cities with all the necessary amenities. However, it’s still wise to make reservations for peace of mind.

Feel free to add comments. This is often how you move up the Google hierarchy, and how more pilgrims will have access to the site.

Next stage: Stage4b: From Schmerikon to Einsiedeln

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